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DELIVERED IN 



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MARCH 11, 1S29. 



BY ^. CHAFXIT, D.B. 

PRESIDENT OF THE COLUMBIAN COLLEGE. 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 



WASHINGTON CITY'. 
FRINTF^D BY STEPHEN C. USTICK, 

1829. 



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INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 



Fellow Citizens, 

I STAND before you as a public character. The 
station which I occupy, will, doubtless, give some addi- 
tional influence to the sentiments which I may advance. 
This consideration inspired me with a deep sense of 
responsibility, and made me anxious to select a subject, 
which would be best suited to the present occasion. I 
might have chosen to address you upon the importance 
of classical learning; upon the circumstances in our 
country, which are peculiarly favorable to the progress 
of science and literature; or upon the connexion be- 
tween the general diffusion of knowledge, and the sta- 
bility of elective governments. But these topics I have 
declined, and have taken for my theme, The Business 
of Human Life. 

To gain a correct knowledge of this subject^ and to 
act accordingly, will secure our welfare, not simply 
during our short probation, but during our endless ex- 
istence. What then is the business of human life ? In 
reply, I would say, that it is, in its highest design, to 
acquire that education in knowledge, and to form that 
character, which will qualify us for a future state of 
happiness. Before I present the proof of this sentiment^ 
I will define what I mean by education. By this term 
I mean the right application of that whole combination 
of means, which are appointed to be employed upon 



man, to give health and vigor to his constitution, dig- 
nity and grace to his manners ; to develop and mature 
his intellectual powers; to subdue his evil propensities; 
and to train him up in the habits of morality and reli- 
gion* As man possesses soul and body, and as he 
was formed to exist in two Avorlds, and in each of them 
has specific duties to perform, his education should be 
adapted to his complex character, and to his respective 
theatres of action. In order to fit him for his present sta- 
tion, he needs a healthy and vigorous constitution, a mind 
strengthened by study, and enriched by various know- 
ledge and experience, and a heart of inliexible integrity, 
and yet tenderly alive to the highest welfare of his spe- 
cies. In a word, that man is tlie best educated, who 
possesses the greatest physical strength, the richest 
stores of wisdom and knowledge, and a paramount 
disposition to employ all his talents in honoring God, 
and in multiplying the sources of liuman enjoyment. 
Think not that because I have directed your attention, 
principally, to the future state, that I wish to encourage 
indifference to this life. Instead of doing this, 1 would 
say that the objects of this world were designed to 
excite our attention and gratitude ; and that a faitfiful 
discharge of our relative duties here on earth, is one of 
the best preparations for the world to come. But that 
it should be our grand concern to acquire that know- 
ledge, and to form that character, which will fit us for a 
state of blissful immorality, I shall support by two com- 
prehensive arguments, 

1. The mental endowments of man indicate, that 
lie is designed for anotlier and more lasting state. 

2. All the appointed means of instruction and dis- 
cipline are actually adapted to exert such an influence 



,over his mind, as is best calculated to fit him for a 
future world of glory. 

My first argument ought not to be deemed unsound, 
because, in many other cases, we learn the end and uses 
of things from a knowledge of their properties. The 
wing of the bird, and the fin of the fish, determine the 
element, and the manner, in which they are to be em- 
ployed. An inspection of the delicate and specific 
structure of a watch, will teach us, that it is formed, 
not to be thrown among the toys of children, but to be 
carefully kept to mark the passing hours of time. The 
limbs and the organs of the human body, so readily 
indicate the end of their formation, that even children 
infer, that the feet were designed for motion, the hands 
for labor, and the eyes for seeing. By the same mode 
of reasoning, we can, with equal certainty, decide for 
what purpose man was called into existence. What, 
then, are the properties of his mind, which teach us that 
lie was formed for a second state of being. 

Man is endowed with that insatiable curiosity, which 
all the wonders of this globe will not satisfy. Anxious 
to gain a knowledge of other worlds, he patiently studies 
the exact sciences, to enable himself to explain the phe- 
nomena of the heavenly bodies. When he has completed 
his calculations in the solar system, he by the aid of 
powerful glasses extends his researches into new tracts 
of space ; and determines the magnitude, the distance, 
and the orbit of some planet, which revolves in the 
fields of ether far beyond his unaided sight. His me- 
mory preserves the fruits of his studies and experience. 
Heasoii guides him to a knowledge of some of the 
sublimest truths respecting the works and attributes of 
Jehovah. By the aid of imagination, he can form from 



(lie stores of his simple ideas unequalled models in arts 
and manners^ and read with delight those works of 
fiction^ which paint before him specimens of excellency 
and glory, which far transcend any thing that can be 
found in real life. In this way he becomes dissatisfied 
with his present state and acquisitions, and is excited 
to make renewed efforts after higher attainments, under 
the animating hope, that in some future period he will 
realize all these creations of fancy. By the power of 
conscience alone he is enabled to discover the moral 
glories of the divine character, and is constituted a 
religious being. 

In addition to these endowments, man possesses 
native and undying aspirations after enjoyments, more 
durable and satisfactory, than any which this earth can 
yield. His restless soul is perpetually searching after 
some new delight, and struggling, as if anxious to es- 
cape from its mortal prison, to wing its upward flight to 
more congenial skies. Such a mind cln never be satis- 
fied with temporal good ; it needs an inheritance suited 
to its nature, and immortal as the joys of heaven. But 
this it can never find in foreign objects. Outward pos- 
sessions do not constitute substantial wealth. True 
riches belong to the mind, and consist in those internal 
graces, which qualify man to find his supreme felicity 
in the habitual discharge of his temporal duty, and in 
fellowship with divine excellency. 

His Creator has not only endowed him with thesu 
exalted powers, but he has opened before him an un- 
limited field of improvement, and surrounded him with 
every temptation to put forth all his powers in the pur- 
suit of knowledge. Now, it is only upon the suppo- 
sition, that man is destined for a state of endless dura^ 



7 

tion, that the wisdom and benevolence of God are ina 
nifested in this reciprocal relation between the mental 
attributes of man^ and his external means of instruction 
and discipline. For, if he be made to exist only for a 
few days, then both the powers of his mind, and his 
means of knowledge, are far too exalted, either for his 
greatest usefulness or enjoyment. Should you now be 
assured, that at death you are to sink into eternal 
oblivion, would you not be prompted to inquire, why 
then have we been formed with an undying curiosity 
to know more of the works and character of God, than 
what is compatible with our present advantage. Why 
has he spread out before us a boundless prospect. Why 
has he strewed the paths of science with increasing 
allurements, if death is so soon to put a final period to 
this delightful career of knowledge. Has he lifted the 
veil from the enchanting scenery, merely to make us 
mourn, that it must be quickly covered again in ever-> 
lasting darkness. Why have we those strong powers 
of reason and imagination, by which we can gain that 
view of the greatness and glories of creation, which 
makes this earth dwindle to a point, and casts an air 
of burlesque over the whole scene of human ajffairi?. 
Is the altar, which conscience has reared in honor to 
Jehovah, soon to be demolished, and the fire of human 
devotion to be eternally extinguished. Why this na- 
tive longing after immortality; this instinctive horror 
at the thought of annihilation, if our short stay here 
bound the period of our being. True, it may be said, 
that these passions and powers prompt and assist man 
in his noblest efforts; and that, therefore, they sub- 
serve the best external interests of human society. 
But if man is soon to perish forever, would not a mer- 



8 

ciful God have taken care to prevent any detractic^i 
from his momentary enjoyments, by making him inca- 
pable of anticipating such an ignoble destiny. If there 
be no good for the upright after death, and no evil for 
the unjust, could not the Creator have supported his 
throne, without awakening a deceptive fear of future 
retribution ; and could he not have promoted the mortal 
happiness of man, without palming upon him the de- 
lusive hope of heaven. How could we vindicate an 
earthly monarch, who should educate his son in the 
best manner to qualify him to inherit his crown and 
dominions, when it was his purpose to degrade him to 
the rank of a peasant. 

2. As the endowments of man thus plainly suggest 
the end for which he was formed, so all the appointed 
means of education are actually adapted to exert such 
an influence over his mind, as is best calculated to qua- 
lify him for a second state of being. In this life our 
Creator is conducting upon man a process of education 
upon an elevated scale, and suited to his exalted rank, 
and to his future destination. The works of nature 
furnish exercises adapted to all the grades of mind. 
Some of them are sufficiently hard to ti sk the greatest 
powers ; and others, so easy, as to invite the efforts of 
humbler talents. The world is the temple of God, and 
mani s the priest of nature, ordained, by being qual- 
ified, to celebrate .religious service, not only in it, but 
for it. Placed in this temple, to enjoy the benefits of 
divine teachings, man appears truly great, the offspring 
of Jehovah, and the candidate for an unfading crown of 
glory. Whoever attentively reflects upon the tendency 
of those instructions, which God is imparting to man, 
must perceive that they are pre-eminently calculated to 
strengthen his intellectal powers ; to purify his heart, 



and to expand it with benevolent affection ; and to 
strengthen his expectations, that he is destined for a 
state of immortality. This truth is evident from tlie 
character of those manifestations* which God has eriven 
of all his attributes. Does the astronomer wish to ele- 
vate his soul by witnessing great displays of wis- 
dom and power, let him take up the best telescopes^ 
and bring into his field of vision the countless host of 
fixed stars. Let him consider them all, as so many 
mighty globes of fire, forming the centres of new clus- 
ters of worlds like the sun in the solar system ; let him 
then permit himself to be borne on the wings of imagi= 
nation, till he reaches the most distant star that glim- 
mered upon his aided sight, and fancy that he there 
beholds, on every hand, other suns and other systems, 
lighted up in endless perspective, whose immense floods 
of light, though they have been rushing down for 
nearly six thousand years, have not as yet reached 
our little planet, and what dilation of mind must he feel^ 
as he thus traverses the immensity of Jehovah's works^ 
and attempts to conceive an idea of that power, which 
supports the universe, and of that wisdom, which so 
adjusted the mechanism of the heavenly bodies, that, 
from the dawn of creation, they have continued to 
revolve in perfect uniformity and exactness. And if he 
be a good man, what a glow of sympathetic joy and 
benevolence must he feel, when he reflects upon the 
blessedness of that Almighty Being, who, from the 
throne of his glory, is continually dispensing the means 
of life and enjoyment to all the worlds which move 
around him ; and is receiving, in return, their hymns 
of adoration and praise. There are several recorded 
instances of the powerful ^^^oXj which the study of astro- 



10 

nomy has producetl upon the human mind. Dr. Ritten- 
house of Pennsylvania, after he had calculated the 
transit of Venus, which was to happen June 3d, 1769, 
was appointed at Philadelphia, with others, to repair 
to the township of Norriton, and there to observe this 
planet until its passage over the sun's disk should veri- 
fy the correctness of his calculations. This occurrence 
had never been witnessed but twice before by any in- 
habitant of our earth, and was never to be again seen 
by any person then living. A phenomenon so rare, and 
so important in its bearings upon astronomical science, 
was, indeed, well calculated to agitate the soul of one 
so alive^ as he was, to the great truths of nature. The 
day arrived, and there was no cloud in the horizon. 
The observers, in silence and trembling anxiety, waited 
for the predicted moment of observation. It came — and 
in the instant of contact, an emotion of joy so powerful 
was excited in the bosom of Mr. Rittenhouse, that he 
fainted. Sir Isaac Newton, after he had advanced so 
far in his mathematical proof of one of his great astra- 
nomical doctrines, as to see that the result was to be 
triumphant, was so affected in view of the momentous 
truth which he was about to demonstrate^ that he was 
unable to proceed, and begged one of his companions 
in study to relieve him, and carry out the calculation. 
The instructions, which the heavens give, are not con- 
lined to scholars ; but they are imparted to the peasant 
and to the savage. The pious shepherd often feels a 
sudden expansion of mind, while attempting to form an 
idea of that power, which spread out and adorned the 
heavens with so many worlds of light. 

[Nor are those representations of the attributes of 
God, which tend to expand the soul, and assuuiilate it to 



11 

Ihe, divine likeness^ confined to the material world. It 
is from the spiritual world, that the glory of God beams 
forth in its fullest lustre. Yes; one human mind contains 
greater riches, and furnishes more ennobling proofs of 
the being and perfections of God, than are supplied by 
all the systems of unorganized matter. To raise this 
mind from ignorance and guilt, and to prepare it for 
a residence in heaven, God is now expending the 
wealth of his treasures, and employing the most honor- 
able and powerful agents in his kingdom. It is said 
thatMalebranche, in reading the treatise of Des Cartes 
upon man, was so overpowered by the sentiments exhi- 
bited, that he was obliged to close the book, and pause^ 
until the palpitations of his heart subsided. 

The providence of God is eminently calculated to act 
upon the hopes and fears of man. It is true, that re- 
wards and punishments are, in this world, unequally 
distributed. Fraud and injustice sometimes bask under 
the sun of prosperity; while honesty and righteousness 
are chilled under the storms of adversity. But yet the 
general course of things, in favor of the innocent and 
against the guilty, fully evinces, that, even in this life, 
virtue has the decided advantage over vice. Though 
the cruel oppressor may now prosper, yet he can but 
consider his secret remorse of conscience as a sure 
presage, that vengeance will overtake him, when inqui- 
sition shall be made for blood. 

In religious institutions and ceremonies, the mode of 
instruction is more direct and efficient. The grand de- 
sign of all the commands and precepts, doctrines and 
ceremonies of the Jewish economy, and, especially, of 
the brighter dispensation of Christianity, is to "exert 
a purifying and ennobling influence upon the hitman 



12 

mind, to make us victorious over sin, over ourselves, 
over peril and pain ; to join us to Grod by filial love, 
and above all, by likeness of nature, by participation 
of his Spirit.'' 

But why has God done so much to exhibit his own 
perfections. Did he put forth his powers of creation to 
relieve the weariness of eternal repose ; or to gain the 
praises of adoring millions. 8urely not. For he was 
perfectly conscious of his own excellencies before he made 
the worlds. Neither can the homage and admiration of 
all his creatures add to his essential glory and blessed- 
ness. But he has made this exhibition of liimself, and 
required us to express before him the homage of our 
hearts, because this act of worship, and those truths, 
which respect his own character and designs, have the 
greatest power to stir the soul, and to form it for its 
future destination. 

The subject, to which our attention has been given, 
leads us to form high anticipations of the triumphant 
issue of the work of education. We have not embraced 
the doctrine of human perfectibility, nor any visionary 
projects, by which we expect this fallen world is to be 
regenerated. But these anticipations are encouraged 
by substantial reasons. We have seen that education 
should be the first pursuit of man, since it is, in fact, 
the chief concern of heaven ; and, that for its advance- 
ment the w orks of creation, the arrangements of Provi- 
dence, and the whole array of positive institutions, and 
revealed truth, are made subservient. In its completion, 
the brightest glories of God, and the highest amount of 
human happiness, are involved. A work so dear in the 
sight of Heaven must be crowned with abundant success. 



It is true, that education lias made but slow advances. 
In some considerable portions of time, it has been 
apparently stationary ; and, in others, even declining. 
Indeed, it has advanced by degrees so silent and in- 
considerable, that they have been unheeded by the mass 
of mankind, and denied by some authors^ who have 
cherished gloomy and mistaken views of human nature. 
But those philosophers, who have carefully collated 
different periods of history, and compared the results 
of successive dispensations, have seen abundant proof, 
that, on the whole, both the intellectual and moral states 
of the world have been greatly advanced. Nor need 
we be surprised at this slow movement. Various con- 
siderations lead us to suppose, that God saw it best to 
confine the soul, during its term of trial, in an earthly 
tabernacle, and to make it dependent upon bodily or- 
gans for all its knowledge of surrounding matter, in 
order to limit the sphere of information, and to prevent 
us from acquiring, in this earthly stage of our being, 
too clear a view of the government of the universe. The 
Almighty, by thus imposing temporary checks to the 
ardor of our curiosity, has practised upon the princi- 
ples of economy. He has, in this way, reduced man to 
the necessity of studying well the nature and relations 
of the objects, that surround him in this dawn of his 
being, before he is admitted to that higher grade of 
instruction, where every impediment shall be removed 
from his boundless career of knowledge. But notwith- 
standing this slow movement, yet much has been gained. 
Of this truth how much more sensible should we be, if 
it were possible for us to retain a vivid recollection of 
the bright day, which we now enjoy, after we had 
witnessed the rapid extinction of every light in the 



14 

scientific heavens, till we were enveloped in that mid- 
night darkness, which surrounded the first inhabitants of 
this world. Though each successive generation has to 
commence its progress in a state of infancy; yet it 
starts from a higher point of improvement, than did its 
predecessor;\^iid this will continue to he the case, till 
the nations of the earth arrive at that state of intellec- 
tual and moral perfection, in which they will enjoy all 
the bright visions, which are now seen, afar off, by the 
aid of prophetic light. The advantages already ac- 
quired are highly encouraging. We are now freed from 
the trammels of theoretic philosophy, and from the 
puerilities of the syllogistic art, which, as an engine of 
science, kept the human mind, for nearly two thousand 
years, moving round in the same beaten circle. The 
philosophy of the mind is greatly advanced. The bale- 
ful influence of early prejudices is more fully under- 
stood, and their formation more guarded against. The 
laws of association are better known, and more judici- 
ously applied in the work of education. The sun of 
civil and religious freedom has risen, full-orbed, and 
w ill continue to climb the heavens, till it stands in mid- 
day to bless the world with its cheering light. Lan- 
guage, the vehicle of thought and the instrument of 
instruction, has become more settled in its meaning, 
and more copious and powerful in its expression. The 
press, that lever which can move the world, is lending 
her aid in the diffusion of knowledge, and in the sup- 
presssion of vice. The invention of the fluxionai calcu- 
lus by Newton and Leibnitz, has armed the human mind 
with such a powerful instrument of thought, as enables 
it to solve the most profound problems in the exact 
sciences. The modern invention of astronomical and 



15 

microscopic glasses, has brought iincler the inspectiou 
of the modern philosopher two worlds, both unknown 
to the ancients, the one on the account of extreme mi- 
nuteness, and the other, on account of extreme dis- 
tance. The progress, which has been lately made in 
chimistry and galvanism, has put into the hand of the 
chimist an instrument of analysis, which seems des- 
tined to develop the most hidden secrets of nature. The 
discovery of the power of steam, has given to man a new 
agent, which, on account of the extent of its application, 
and the greatness of its power, is beginning to affect all 
the great interests of society. The facilities of commu- 
nication, through the medium of public roads, canals, 
telegraphs, and steam vessels^ have, in part, annihilated 
distances, and brought, once remote communities, into 
convenient neighborhoods ; and increasing intercourse 
is fast wearing away local distinctions and strengthening 
the bonds of human sympathy. 

But public opinion is probably destined to be the 
most efficient human instrument in correcting evil cus~ 
toms, and in elevating the tone of public morals. In 
hereditary governments the power of public opinion is 
great; in free states it is entirely supreme. But this 
opinion, omnipotent as it is, has, as yet, been formed 
by a few leading characters. In some instances^ one 
individual is so much the idol of his nation, that, if he 
publish his sentiments, and exhibit his manners, he is 
sui'e to be followed by the multitude. Swift might thus 
have ruled in the British kingdom, and Franklin in the 
American republic. With special ease may one com* 
manding character lead the community, when he avails 
himself of the popular passion, which happens to agi- 
fate their minds, and opens before them a way, in which 



16 

it may be gratified. When Peter the hermit, clothed iit 
sackcloth, visited the cities of Christendom, and, with 
a loud and pathetic cry, preached a general crusade, he 
appealed to a sentiment, which then pervaded the chris- 
tian world ; and all Europe was electrified by his elo- 
quence, and seemed to be loosened from its ancient bed. 
Princes and prelates, nobles and peasants, flocked to the 
cross, demanding to be led against the infidels to dis- 
lodge them from the holy land. Men can be controlled, 
not only by appeals to their passions, but by arguments 
addressed to their rational and moral powers. These 
principles of action are ever on the side of truth and 
duty. Whenever the benevolent teacher endeavors to 
enlighten and persuade men, he will be supported by 
these internal advocates, so that, if he fail, it will be 
because prejudice or passion silenced their pleadings. 
Another important mean of forming and controlling 
the human mind, is the power of sympathetic imitation. 
This power, though it exposes men to be led astray by 
designing demagogues and tyrants, yet was, obviously, 
intended to give to the man of wisdom and goodness an 
ascendant over a congregated multitude, and to enable 
him to excite and propagate among them the enthusiasm 
of moral sentiment, that he may enlist them on the side 
of virtue and religion. In numerous assemblies, the 
power of sympatliy is great, and, therefore, their pas- 
sions are quickly excited, and their physical force is 
easily controlled. Whitefield could melt ten thousand 
hearers into tears of grief, or joy, and the mighty Mira 
beau could breathe all the purpose and fire of his own 
30ul into the revolutionary mobs of France, and make 
them the terrible executioners of his bloody schemes of 
ambition. Philanthropic divines, and orators, what a 



17 

J eld lies before you, what materials to work upon ; 
what trophies may you here gain ; what an abundant 
harvest may you here reap. Over assembled thousands 
of rational beings, thus endowed and thus pliant under 
the power of eloquence, what wonders might be done 
by a Demostheites, animated by the spirit of a Howard. 
But, for our further encouragement we have higher 
reasons to expect success in advancing the interests of 
learning and religion, than any which can be found in the 
properties of the human mind. The analogy of Provi- 
dence, and the import of inspired predictions, authorize 
us to believe, that, as time advances, the feebler means 
of instruction will be less employed, while the more 
powerful will be rendered increasingly efficacious in 
eifecting that change in man, which will secure his 
future felicity. For two thousand years, God left men 
to learn his character and will by the silent exhibition 
of his perfections, by those signatures of his existence 
and designs, which they could trace in his works and 
providences. He, then, for the purposes of general 
benevolence, delivered, in an audible voice, a code of 
laws to a favored people, and instituted among them a 
showy and costly ritual. This symbolical mode of 
teaching was superseded by the direct and more efficient 
system of Christianity. The law is now written, not 
upon tables of stone, but upon the human heart. ^ ow 
we, instead of learning our duty by mere shadows, are 
instructed by the soul- subduing charms of eloquence, 
by living example, and by the agency of the Almighty 
Spirit. Nor do even we enjoy the best advantages for 
improvement. Knowledge is yet to be greatly increased ; 
teachers are to become much more skilful, and means 
are to be rendered vastly more productive. '' The light 



18 

of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the 
light of the sun shall be sevenfold ;'^ and the efforts, to 
change this sinful world into a moral paradise, are yefc 
to be as prompt and efficacious, as are the rains and 
suns of heaven in fructifying the face of the earth. 
When the influence of the gospel shaW reign upon the 
thrones of princes, in the halls of legislation, and in the 
courts of justice, when governors and magistrates shall 
exhibit in their lives the graces of Christianity, when 
the promised aid of the Spirit shall descend upon their 
labors like showers upon the mown grass, what a scene 
of moral beauty will this world then present. 

The subject which we have discussed leads us to 
reflect upon the interesting character and influence of 
our public seminaries of learning. There are in this 
infant nation more than fifty colleges and universi- 
ties, beside a very large number of academies and 
high schools. These institutions, especially those of 
the first class, are furnished with well-selected libraries, 
costly apparatus, competent boards of instructers, and 
are fostered by public and private patronage^ The 
flower of our youth is within their walls, possessing 
minds in a soft and pliant state. Their opinions, gene- 
i*ally speaking, are not formed, their habits are not 
settled, and their intellectual and moral powers are 
unfolding themselves, ready to take the form and di- 
rection, which their teachers may give them. What 
must be the momentous issue of the steady action of 
tliis powerful combination of means upon this class of 
our youthful population. A moral engine so mighty, and 
so constantly playing off its strength upon this choicest 
portioQ of our citizens, must produce results to all tfee 



19 

dearesi interests of our country, which will far exceed 
human calculation. It is to the young men, who are 
noAV prosecuting their public studies, that we are to 
look for the next supply of divines, civilians, physi- 
cians, instructers, and of our principal military and 
naval commanders. The men, who now sustain these 
characters, must soon be called from all the concerns 
of this life, and leave their places to be filled by a new 
generation. We cannot feel indiff'erent as to the cha- 
racter which those men are to sustain, who are soon to 
take charge of all our high interests of religion and 
government, and who are to be the arbiters of the final 
destinies of the children, whom we may leave behind 
us. In what manner, and in reference to what end^ 
shall our youth be educated. Mere accident is not to 
decide their character and their future conduct. But 
the streams, which are to flow from the fountains of 
knowledge, w ill refresh, and fertilize our goodly heri- 
tage, or spread over it the waters of death, just as our 
systems of education, in our seats of science, are good, or 
bad. We have melancholy proofs of the powerful in- 
fluence, which they exert upon the welfare of nations. 
Look at the institutions of learning in Europe, and you 
will find, that many of them are the haunts of dissipation, 
and, that they embrace members, who are the advocates 
of those sentiments, which go to sap the foundations of 
revealed religion, and human accountability. Whence 
flowed that late tide of infidelity, which spread death 
and mourning in its progress, and which threatened to 
overwhelm, at once, both the throne and the altar. Did 
it not proceed from their ancient institutions of science, 
and from their numerous Alumni. And, should we 
examine the state of colleges in our own country, we 



20 

should Unci, at least in some of tliem, miicli to stain our 
pride, and to alarm our fears. How many once lovely 
youtlij who, when they entered them, possessed a deli- 
cate sense of moral distinctions, have left them with 
sceptical notions and licentious habits. Why, in any 
instance, does this melancholy result attend the course 
of public education. Is progress in science the neces- 
sary road to infidelity. Have we a religion, fit only to 
dupe and to keep in awe the ignorant herd, but which 
cannot endure the eye of philosophic criticism. No, 
surely. Christianity dreads no scrutiny of investigation. 
She courts the day, and is willing even to be put to the 
torture, not fearing that she shall utter any thing dero- 
gatory to her heavenly origin. But the cause of these 
evils is chiefly to be found in the fact, that the great 
design of education has not been kept steadily in view. 
Attention has been more exclusively directed to physical 
and intellectual science in our colleges, than in the 
schools of Greece and Rome. For this difference be- 
tween modern institutions and those of antiquity, some 
reasons may be assigned. Among the ancients, phy- 
sical science was, comparatively speaking, but little 
known. Their philosophy w as, principally, confined to 
the nature of man, and to his moral relations. Their 
wise men, such as Aristotle, Plato, Seneca and many 
others, made the human mind their principal study. 
This w as emphatically true of Socrates. ^' Man, and 
w^hat relates to man, were the only subjects on which 
he chose to employ himself. To this purpose all his 
inquiries and conversations turned. On what w as pious, 
what impious ; what honorable, what base ; what just, 
what unjust; what wisdom, what folly; what courage^ 
what cowardice ; what a state or political community, 



21 

w-hat the cliaracter of a statesman or a politician ; what 
the government of men, what the character of one equal 
to such a government. It was on these, and other 
matters of the same kind, that he used to discourse; iu 
which subjects those who were knowing, he used to 
esteem men of honor and goodness, and those who were 
isruorant to be no better than the basest of slaves.'' But 
among the moderns the attention of students has been 
too much turned from these subjects, especially since 
the consideration of final causes has been so much ex- 
ploded by the inductive philosophy. In consequence 
of this, ethical studies have retired to monasteries 
and schools of divinity; while in our literary institu- 
tions, such have been the advances in natural philoso- 
phy, in the higher branches of mathematics, in the 
liberal arts, and in polite learning, as to give to these 
subjects such an all-absorbing character, that moral 
science has been permitted to languisli in comparative 
neglect. It was this fact, and its unhappy consequences^ 
which led me to select the subject, to which your atten- 
tion has been invited. Tiiis fact is my apology, if any 
be needed, for giving to this address so serious a cast. 
Think not, however, that 1 wish to convert our seats of 
science into halls of mere theology. Let the present 
branches of literature and science be retained, and pro- 
secuted with untiring zeal. For at best, we can do but 
little more, during the short space allotted us, than to 
initiate our scholars into the usual branches of know- 
ledge, and lay a tolerable foundation for their future 
professional studies. This foundation I would not wish 
to narrow ; for knowledge is the food of the mind^ and 
one of the two grand pillars that support our free 
Constitution. Nor would I introduce into our colleges 



22 

systems of divinity^ trammelled by sectarian peculiari- 
ties. But I would eucourage that religion, which is as 
free as the common light of the sun, and as healthful 
and refreshing as the breezes of morning — a religion 
resting on a broad basis — the being and perfections 
of God, the character and relations of man, and upon 
the peculiar doctrines and precepts of Jievelaticm. 
Ought not a religion of this extended and elevated 
character to hold a prominent place in our public course 
of education. " Since this world is a system of benevo- 
lence, and consequently its author the object of un- 
bounded love and adoration, benevolence and piety are 
our only true guides, in our inquiries into it; the only keys 
which will unlock the mysteries of nature, and clues 
which lead through her labyrinths." How delightful 
to the benevolent instructer, while teaching his students 
the laws of matter and of mind, to refer them often to 
the bright aspects of the benevolent purpose and will 
of their Creator, and to remind them, that these inti- 
mations should be improved as monitors to duty, and 
as sources of the most pure and exalted delight. Does 
he unfold to them the treasures of the ancient classics, 
lie can suggest to them, that the authors of these lasting 
monuments of mind, studied profoundly the nature of 
the human soul, and that, therefore, they still excel thQ 
moderns in painting the passions, and in touching all 
the springs of moral action. And from the fact that 
they are now studied by every scholar with the same 
delight, with whicli they were read, more than two 
thousand years ago, he may take occasion to prove to 
them, that the laws of the intellectual world are as 
fixed and lasting, as those which regulate the mate- 
rial system. What is there in Christianity to narroAv 



23 

the mind and depress the spirits. Does it not contain 
our chief solace in the conflicts of life, and all our 
joyous hopes of the heavenly state. It calls forth with- 
in us a mighty energy for our own elevation, and 
makes discoveries of a vast, bold, illimitable, charac- 
ter. Why then should it not hold a prominent place 
ill our course of education. " Gratitude and every mo- 
tive of virtue demand of us a reverence for the gospel. 
Protestant Christianity has in former times given learn- 
ing such support as learning can never repay. The his- 
tory of Christendom bears witness to this. The names 
of Erasmus, of Grotius, of Bacon and a host of lumi- 
naries of science, who rise up like a wall of fire around 
the cause of Christianity will bear witness to this. Do 
you want examples of learned Christians ? 1 could not 
recount them all in an age. You need not be told that 

Learning has borne such fruit in other days. 
On all her branches : piety has found 
Friends in the friends of science, and true prayeir 
Has flowed from lips wet with Castalian dews." 

The sentiment, which we have sustained, reminds us 
of some defects in various departments of education. In 
civil society there are important professions, which ought 
to be filled by men, previously prepared to discharge, 
with uprightness and ability, their respective duties. 
Hence we have schools and teachers, designated by 
appropriate names. While each class of instructers have 
a specific branch of education, which they are particu- 
larly to conduct, yet they are all bound to aim at the 
same grand object — the maturation of the imperishable 
mind for a happier condition in the invisible world. 
For that Being, who formed us, ever keeps that same 



24 

high end in view in sustaining physical laws, in the 
choice and adjustment of means, and in all his direct 
agency upon the human soul. Whether we stand in his 
vast tabernacle, to receive instruction from the earth and 
skies, from the bright day and the starry night ; and to 
watch the movements of that providence, which fully 
proves, that God is the governor of the world ; whether 
our attention is turned within to study the more instruc- 
tive wonders of the spiritual world, and to be taught 
from the throne of conscience ; or whether we are con- 
ducted into his consecrated house to enjoy still higher 
advantages for improvement, the design and tendency 
of the instructions of each station, is precisely the same, 
— to lead us to cherish the highest admiration of the cha- 
racter of God, and to make it our daily concern to gain 
higher degrees of conformity to his divine likeness. This 
perfect example is doubtless intended for universal im- 
itation. When did jurists, or physicians, or classical 
professors, obtain a dispensation from their Creator to 
discard all moral instruction from their scliools. Is 
the noble science of law to be acquired, to render a man 
more ingenious to increase its boasted obscurity, or to 
make him a more powerful competitor in the mercenary 
struggle for fame and wealth. Why is not the instructer 
in jurisprudence bound to teach his pupils, that civil 
society is as much an ordinance of Heaven, as is the 
Messiah's kingdom ; and that it is as truly designed to 
aid man in securing the end of his being, as is the chris- 
tian church. It is not a combination simply for the 
protection of life and property ; but it is an association 
for moral improvement. '^Rulers are not a terror to 
good works, but to the evil.'' All wise law-givers study 
the human mind with deep attention, that they may 



25 

frame their laws according to the moral nature and 
relations of man. It is true, that the civil arm employs 
harsher methods of discipline, than are used in tho^e 
communities, where men are to be governed by the 
strength of moral sentiment. But this does not prove, 
that civil courts are ordained for purposes, altogether 
different from ecclesiastical tribunals. They are dis- 
similar in character, but alike in the effects, which they 
are intended to produce. Magistracy, in supporting 
human laws, by physical pains and penalties, performs 
a service very similar to that of conscience, in support- 
divine laws by the terrors of remorse and the love of 
self respect and approbation. 

The physiologist, while lecturing upon the functions 
and properties of living animals, can hardly refrain 
from expatiating before his pupils upon the wisdom and 
benevolence of that Being, who is the author of the 
human constitution ; and who, while he adjusted the 
mechanism of the heavenly bodies, and set them in 
motion to form a sublime method of instruction, had 
the same object in view in the wonderfully curious 
organization of the human body. In a word, all, to 
whom is entrusted the culture of mind, from the hum- 
ble maid, who serves in the nursery, up through all the 
rising grades of teachers, to the consecrated bishop, who 
waits at the altar, should conspire in effecting one grand 
result, — the advancement of the human mind to the high- 
est degree of intellectual and moral excellence. In this 
way they initiate their pupils into the science of useful 
and happy living, and become the honored imitators of 
their Creator in his benevolent designs. 

Perhaps no set of instructers holds a more important 
place in this work, than those, who are employed itt 
public seminaries of learning, 

4 



26 

You see, my companions in labor, that your work is 
arduous, and your responsibilities great. The illustri- 
ous Fenelon^ the boast of the French nation and the 
brightest ornament in the Catholic church, was deeply 
affected in view of his duty, and of his high accounta- 
bility, when he consented to become the private in- 
structer of the Duke of Burgundy. He did not deem it 
degrading to his high rank and talents, to take charge of 
that young Prince, who then stood heir to the throne of 
France. For he well knew, that his due education 
would affect, not only the destinies of his own nation, 
but those, of all the kingdoms of Europe. He trembled, 
to reflect, that to him it belonged to form a character, 
to occupy so high a station, and one whose future con- 
duct would, so extensively, affect the state of the world. 
He, therefore, employed all his rare endowments in 
laboring to give that character to his royal pupil, which 
would fit him to become the ruler over a great and 
powerful people, and to support a commanding influ- 
ence among cotemporary monarchs. Thus, Sirs, to 
you is entrusted the care of youth, who have com- 
menced an existence of boundless duration. And, as 
you have so much the control over all their associa- 
tions, in this mouldiog period of their life, you must 
be, in a greater or less degree, the arbiters of their 
future happiness, or misery. Under the combined ia- 
fluence of learning and grace, they may be trained for 
that immortal crown (»f blessedness, before which the 
proudest ensigns of earthly sovereigns fade away into 
nothing. It is from you. Gentlemen, that the community 
are expecting well prepared agents to manage their 
public concerns ; and the peace, the wealth, and the 
glory of this nation may be affected, and that too, for 



27 

eenturies to come, by the character of those scholars 
whom you may form for their service. 

The Trustees of this Seminary will permit me, on the 
present occasion, to congratulate them on the character 
of the work, in which they are engaged. In founding 
this college, and furnishing it with the means of know- 
ledge, you have had respect to the present and future 
welfare of the rising generation. You have, at once, 
shown your veneration for divine example, and love 
for your country, in making the culture of the youthful 
mind the object of your high concern. What object 
in this lower world, so worthy of your best ejfforts, as 
the thinking, imperishable, and mighty spirit of man. 
This mind appears, in the sight of Grod, in all its infinite 
worth. Hence he has placed it under the best circum- 
stances to secure tlie purpose of its being. Though he is 
making countless agents act upon the human mind, and 
though he is instructing it by many and various voices 
and symbols ; yet, in all these numberless ways, his un- 
changing design, is to promote the growth of its power 
of action, and its susceptibility of enjoyment. This 
grand truth, 1 wish to exhibit before you in the boldest 
relief. But this truth, like many others of vital mo- 
ment, is slowly rising into notice and power. As yet, 
it is hardlv above the horizon. How feeble is its 
influence over those, who have some faint conceptions of 
its existence. What object of equal worth, has been so 
lightly esteemed, and misused, as the ethereal spirit of 
man, — that spirit, which is capable of embracing the 
present, the past, and the future ; of measuring the earth, 
of scanning the heavens^ and formed to hold delightful 
intercourse with the pure spirits above. Some make it 
their chief concern to train its noble powers, to the 



28 

pursuits of avarice. By some, it is disciplined, like the 
limbs, and muscles of the ancient athlete, to enter the 
combat for the ephemeral wreath of honor. Others, 
again, seduce it from its divine rank, and teach it to 
look for its supreme delight in the unrestrained indul- 
gence of animal passions. But if all men could be made 
to see, that to purify, to instruct, to correct, to exercise, 
and to enrich the human soul in the highest attainable 
degrees, is the object, which Jehovah has ever had in 
view in the operations of his hand, who would not feel 
himself bound to co-operate in this benevolent work of 
Heaven. Could this cardinal truth be placed in the light 
of noon, so that parents, and teachers, and the whole 
community, could behold its glory, who, then, would 
dare to set up a counter interest, who would think him- 
self at liberty to prostitute the heaven -born spirit of man, 
and to confine it exclusively, to the momentary pursuits 
of earth. Let it be our care not to be involved in the 
guilt of aiding in this moral degradation. W hat should 
we say to the Prince, who should take his gold for his 
chariot wheels, or his precious stones and jewels, to pave 
the walks of his court. You need not fear, that the 
moral culture of the mind will cramp youthful genius, or 
quench its fire in the pursuits of classical learning. It is 
not the sentiments of religion, but it is dissipation, and 
indolence, which are the grand enemies to scientific 
eminence. The profoundest scholars, and the poets, 
who have soai-ed the highest, and touched the most 
thrilling notes, have obtained their inspirations, fast 
by the throne of God. Let it then be your aim to treat 
the human mind, according to its original endowments, 
and with steady reference to its future welfare. To 
animate you, gentlemen, in your important undertaking, 



29 

you are surrounded by peculiar encouragements. You 
are blessed with the happiest form of govenment, and 
with rulers, who well know, that our dear-bought free- 
dom cannot be preserved and transmitted to posterity, 
without the general diffusion of knowledge, and the pre- 
valence of sound morality. In the selection of a site for 
your seminary, you have been specially happy. While 
it is blessed with the best means of health, it commands 
a. prospect of unrivalled charms. Placed, as it is, in 
view of the Capitol and Metropolis of our nation, it 
presents to the student local advantages of superior 
value. Let us, then, while we devoutly implore the 
aid of that Almighty Being, without whose blessing the 
best concerted measures, for the benefit of man, must 
prove abortive, be unwearied in our efforts to promote 
the growth of this institution, and the Columbian Col- 
lege may yet be a distinguished blessing to our flourish- 
ing republic. 

Before I close permit me to turn my attention to th& 
students of this college. 

Young Gentlemen, you have learnt the design of your 
existence, and the end for which you must employ all 
your powers, to render your life an everlasting blessing. 
Indeed, if I should intimate, that you are sceptical, re- 
specting this cardinal truth, I should, implicitly, im- 
peach the soundness of your judgment; for the over- 
whelming arguments, by which it is supported, are fully 
in your view. The only question is, whether you are 
immovably fixed to make this truth the supreme law of 
your lives. What purpose can be more worthy your 
rank, or more auspicious to your future prospects. Upon 
you rests a greater weight of obligation to make an, 
unreserved consecration of your talents^ to improve the 



30 

character and condition of man, tban has rested upon 
any preceding generation. You have come upon the 
theatre of life, at a period, in which the facilities, and 
the demands for benevolent action, are the most multi- 
plied. You have the richest blessings to impart ; you 
speak a language, already extensively spoken, and 
which promises fairer, than any other, to become uni- 
versal ; and you belong to a nation, possessing unrival- 
led advantages in commerce. Think not that you are 
too feeble to make an impression upon the human fami- 
ly. Luther, Bacon, and Locke, did not think so. They 
acted upon the principle, that they, individually, could 
exert an influence, which might be felt round the globe. 
The cause of learning, and of reform, have, in all ages 
of the world, advanced under the influence of those few 
men, who have stepped forward, and labored with all their 
might, without stopping to inquire, whether they should 
fail, if not supported by the concurring multitude. Enter;> 
then, upon this work with all the enthusiasm, which its 
nature and consequences ought to inspire. In making 
the growth of mind your first object^ you need not, to 
secure success, become monks, or ascetics ; but you 
should make this your object, that you may best answer 
the claims of your country. The number, who are 
engaged to advance her physical interest, are vastly 
greater, than that of those, who are laboring to increase 
her moral strength. It is the agency of minds of 
pregnant powers, and of that stern integrity, which 
no bribes can debauch, which our country needs, more 
than an increase of capital, or of manual laborers. 
Into your hands the desk and the bar, the bench, 
and the seats of legislation, are soon to be resigned. 
Can you fill them with dignity and success^ if you are 



strangers lo the protracted toils of study and of think- 
ing. Whatever be the ptofession, which you may choose, 
set your standard of excellency high, and say, with a 
tone, which nothing can change, that point shall be 
gained, and never rest till your object is won. High 
aims in early life, and undying perseverance, have 
formed those illustrious characters, who have conferred 
the brightest honors upon the human race. To disci- 
pline the mind, according to your wishes, you are 
supplied with the most appropriate and powerful means. 
Does the soul suffer its divine glories to be sullied in 
the mire of lusts, you can paint before it the folly and 
wretchednes of this sensual slavery. Is it led astray 
by some dangerous spell, you have the means of break- 
ing the enchantment. Is it involved in moral darkness, 
you may carry to it the light of life. Is the subject of 
your instructions bold and obdurate, is his neck stiff, 
like an iron sinew, you are armed with the terrors of 
the Lord, — with weapons, sharp and massive, and which, 
like the shining of God's glittering spear, may, at once, 
terrify and subdue the stoutest heart. Is he captivated 
by earthborn glories, lift the veil, which hides from his 
sight the future tribunal, let the light of eternity shine 
upon him, and all the charms of this deceitful world 
may vanish from his view. This intellectual culture, 
when aided by the power of grace in relation to your- 
selves, will put you in possession of sources of enjoy- 
ment, which the vicissitudes of time can never destroy. 
Taught by the light of Revelation, and by the disasters 
which often sweep away the richest earthly inheritance, 
you will see the folly of resting your hopes upon such 
uncertain objects. You will build your house on a high 
foundation, where you will enjoy perpetual sunshine, 



32 

while you hear the thunder of the distant tempest. But* 
young gentlemen, if you are not yet resolved to make 
the advancement of mind in moral and intellectual ex- 
cellency your greatest care, let me remind you, that 
you cannot, with impunity, wave such a resolution. 
The obligation, which rests upon you to do so, results 
from your endowments and relations ; and it is as much 
beyond your power to cast it off, as it is to effect your 
own annihilation, or to dethrone the Majesty of heaven. 
It does not belong to you to say what shall be the num- 
ber of your talents, or the nature of your connctions. 
These are unalterably fixed by that Being, with whom 
there is no shadow of turning. It is only for you to 
say, whether these talents shall be improved, or abused^ 
whether your relations shall be sustained with honor, 
or with ignominy, and, whether your undying spirit 
shall be fitted to swell the chorus of heaven, or the 
wailings of despair, In view of alternatives, marked 
with such a momentous difference, you cannot be igno 
rant of the path of wisdom. 



iiiii'iSR.^.!i,):.„.9f CONGRESS 



0029908 617 3 



